ORDER VS CHAOS - PRELUDE

Reinforcements

She called them in--all the Hive, all her oh-so-beloved children. The Praetors opened the way, and Cleaners had lined the path with bioluminescent fungi. The stuff wouldn't last long--not long enough to lure in spies--but for the hour or two the way was open, it would do.

"Come," she had encouraged them. "Come, and see what Order can accomplish. What it will accomplish... with your aid." There was pride in it, the warmth of a Mother, beckoning the family to see her newest children. Family who could not make it--well, that was all right. They'd be able to see her beloved spawn through the links along the Hive, in any case.

She had set these chrysalises in another room, one not her own. The churning Clearstone with its perfect, symmetrical cubes snapped here and there, each shape shifting within the whole, necessitating caution when moving too closely around it. But at the edges of the room, six enormous Clearstone chrysalises waited. They were large--very near to hatching--and the creatures within dimly visible past the quartz-like stone and the clear liquids within. White webbing seemed to crack and thread the rocks. Within each stone stood monsters: hideous beautiful Ordered echoes of familiar forms, or wholly alien shapes. A twisted, pustulent dragon. A sneering, blood-red boar encased in chitin. A creature whose head had no up, nor down, only rows of jagged teeth. And so on.

"These will be the vanguard of our new army," Mother told those who gathered--and those who had not, the vision clear along the link. "Soon, we will strike to purge this place of the foulness of the House of Chaos. You must all be ready, my children."

She turned, her massive, throbbing body still trailing long ropes and tangled strands of white webbing, the Cleaners trailing her attempting to trim it away. She ignored them, graciously. "Let us... summarize. Let us see where we stand," her voice caressed their minds. "What have you all accomplished?"

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This thread is open to all Hive members.

@Pallas @Ananke @Lamia @Jinyi @Halcyon @Bone @Yellow @Catalyst

Linked as they were to the Hive, navigation of the labyrinthian corridors which made up the Ursa base could be difficult. After all, it'd been some time since they had first maneuvered themselves to the surface. Delicately their way had been picked through slick tunnels then, the countless blank surfaces chill under hand and foot. Truth be told, after birth they'd wandered and whiled more often in those areas a mere few lengths from the whipping winds of the outside than the cradle of life they'd emerged from, nestled deep within the complex. That place had been rendered a fond memory by now, a mere image reinforced by any broadcast fortunate enough to be handed to them by those within these walls.

To be called back here was an experience hard to define. At most, they might describe the emotion evoked almost a stirring of what some might deem heartstrings, or others a soul: an awakening—but to what they knew not.

It mattered little. Focus on the present; the purpose for this pilgrimage deserved their full attention.

The lighting is a nice touch. While eyes remained fixed on the winding path ahead, the remark was directed at the bundle of fur carried in slender arms. Meaningless chatter, but Halcyon had gathered such empty comments were necessary for bonding amongst some of their fellows, so they endeavored to practice it as much as possible until mastery. How very considerate of Mother.

An appropriately accommodating choice, they might say, to hold back the darkness for those of her children less capable of traversing through it. Of course she would have thought of them, as any attentive parent ought to.

The smooth floor began to lose its steep decline and leveled out upon entry into their final destination. Despite their steps risking a brush with the shifting Clearstone, never did their breath stutter from its regular inhale and exhale. They tip-toed around, prim as could be, adjusted their passenger's position the slightest as they did so, and inquired as to her comfort. Are you still well? Our travel has been rather a long one.

Halcyon, mind a bottomless well of patience, awaited Ananke's answer. This did not prevent them from surveying the sight of the slumbering Drones encased in their chrysalises. Throat thrumming with fascination, they examined the features evident in their individual silhouettes. Quite different from their own, perfectly suited to their determined purpose: molded soldiers through and through, whereas they were a utility, fashioned for a more general use.

They wondered what new needs these would have compared to those already active. How might their performance be encouraged to its most optimal? What would ensure the absolute cohesion required for their particular unit, the first of a grand army? As Steward, every possible avenue of concern could not go unpondered, these the duties that fell to them as the watchful gaze over the infinitely branching network of the Hive.

Upon Mother's request that they report their activities, the calculations arising from those unfolding ruminations were suspended until later. As their hands could not clasp together, preoccupied with the Priestess's current place of residence, Halcyon settled on adjusting their posture to its most ramrod straight. Fins glowed golden, unwavering and content.

Greetings, Mother. I, Zero-Zero-Five Steward, and Zero-Zero-Two Priestess have planted the seeds for the expansion of our collective. The territory commonly referred to as Gemini has distributed throughout it multiple examples of Order's influence. These have been flourishing well due to our continued guidance and regular provisions of sustenance. As advised, we have our sights also on spreading our nests to other locations and have taken actions for such. Zero-Zero-Two Priestess can provide further details.

To maintain a sense of accomplishment, one must allow others to speak of their deeds. A joint operation, it was only fair to let Ananke state a portion of this report.

She had offered to travel on her own four paws for a time, but the benefit of having a hivemind was that one could not really stand on formality when the truth overwhelmed it. She just wasn't made for long trudging and hikes: her body had been formed for slow hops as she grazed, or the blinding speed of a pursuit. She'd given in, thanking Halcyon with genuine appreciation for their carrying her. "Very much so, thank you. If I get too heavy, tell me; I can walk for a time." But she knew that if they did become weary, she'd know. They balanced it out--need and necessity, exchange and cooperation. It was what made them--all of them--so efficient.

Still, her gratitude was there, a warm line underlying her words, lingering as she joined her comrade in looking around the tunnels. Their mention of light had been given a thoughtful, approving sense of acknowledgment, but other than this she had mostly remained quietly unobtrusive, but content. She had, in some sense, just been a little ball of appreciation carried all this way.

When at last they arrived, she hopped delicately down, taking a position at Halcyon's side and ruffling out her fur. She groomed herself quickly, paws passing over whiskers to smooth them into place, and then blinked up toward the strange chrysalises--and Mother--as Halcyon reported first.

She wondered what lay within, and allowed some measure of polite curiosity--just the appropriate amount--to bleed like conversation into the shared link. Then she turned her attention to Mother, picking up where Halcyon left off. "Just as Halcyon says. Zero-Zero-Five Steward," she half-corrected herself mildly, with a glance their way. "We work well together. I can fit into smaller spaces--places where your power can be tucked away and kept safely hidden--and they bear the strength to bring what is needed to nurture it." She didn't need to say it all aloud, she knew--nor did Halcyon; Mother really knew full well what they'd been up to. But the Hive's activities could become a background hum, so it was good for any siblings present to hear what they might've accidentally tuned out. And anyway, it was good to say it all aloud. There was a feeling of accomplishment to it. A sense of pride, even, in what they'd manage to do together--and Ananke shot Halcyon a warm glance of appreciation. They are vital to the Hive, was her half-thought, half-felt addition, full of grateful approval.

The dragon had rarely been invited into the tunnels, let alone into the heart of them where Mother lay. Part of that, she knew, was a susceptibility to outside magics; she did not have the protection of Order lacing her stone and magic, though that was in a sense by design. Her task was not to only serve the Hive, but to watch others who came and went through Ursa, and not to be so easily seen as Hive, herself. There was more to it than that, of course, but that report would come shortly: for now she had hauled herself slowly through the tunnels, having to shoulder past some blocks of ice or squeeze down through claustrophobically narrow spaces to finally enter this cavernous chamber.

There, Bone curled up against one wall--well out of the way--alternatively gazing lovingly, trustingly, toward Mother or looking to her siblings (both hatched and unhatched) with interest. Heat shimmered gently out from her, a mild warmth that kept the dragon's body pleasant against the cold.

She listened quietly as the first two gave their reports, and when Mother's attention swung her way, she spoke up with a pleased sense of being part of something. Her approval for Halcyon and Ananke, and their actions--came as a warm surge before her words, which were unrelated to that approval but somehow held it nonetheless.

"I am Bone, for those who haven't met me. My task is only to watch Ursa, and to guard. We've had no threats since the last incursion... quite a few cycles ago," she explained, her voice a pleased rumble. (She couldn't remember how long ago, exactly, the last battle had been--the one that she'd sat out, waiting to see if she were needed and finding to her relief that she was not.) "We've been safe, for now. I'm hoping it stays that way, but I watch in case it's not. I have been hunting to feed the Hive," and nothing more needed to be said: the rest came in brief flashes of imagery and thought. Where the Cleaners scavenged food here and there, Bone was a more active hunter. She could hunt creatures too fast or high-flying for the drones, bringing them back for Mother to feed upon, a task which she performed skillfully and gladly.

And if anyone ever has need of me, you only need to ask.